The Deadly Kung Fu Factor | Blu-ray (Dark Force Entertainment)
Director: Chui Dai-Chuen
Cast: Michael Chan Wai Man, Charles Heung Wah-Keung, Susanna Au-Yeung Pui-San, Na Na, Chao Lei, Cheng Kei-Ying, Wu Chia-Hsiang, Chieh Yuan
Running Time: 86 min.
By Will McGuire
I recently reviewed the new Dark Forces release of Shadow Fist Hunter, and now it’s time for the second half of this label’s ultra rare kung fu boom double feature. Interestingly enough, Deadly Kung Fu Factor is as different a film from Shadow Fist as two early 70’s martial arts pictures can be: Shadow Fist Hunter is a period basher from Taiwan with a simple story carried by a number of inventive gimmicks for its fight scenes. Deadly Kung Fu Factor is a Hong Kong kung fu film set in the modern day, that’s more interesting as a time capsule than it is as a collection of fight scenes.
As with the previous review, Dark Forces did their part: this film looks spectacular for an independent kung fu film from the mid-70’s. The transfer is clear without ever being distracting and the subtitle track is well translated and communicates the bare bones of the plot effectively. Interestingly enough, it’s the inverse of the previous release in terms of language options: the previous film was only available in a dub, but this film has a Cantonese mono track that sounds great.
Film stars real life triad Michael Chan as a Japanese drug smuggler who has come to Hong Kong for a major score and treats the whole thing like a working vacation for some reason. Chan is very charismatic and comes off like almost a Bruce Lee clone, to the point where the whole film almost has a vibe like Dynamo. This film is a snapshot of Hong Kong locations in 1975 that occasionally breaks out in fights or sex scenes.
Probably a good idea to mention that this is not a classic kung fu film you can watch with the kids as it really embraces nudity and a sleazy grindhouse tone but the plot is mostly a snooze alternating between secretive triads and haggard cops trying to chase them down but literally getting dizzy chasing their cars through roundabouts.
City on Fire is a site for fans of classic martial arts cinema and so I really want to make explicit what kind of mixed review this is: Shadow Fist Hunter felt like a lost minor classic of kung fu. This film is nowhere near as well made as that one, on either a technical level or just in having good action. However, there is fun to be had here with the extensive Hong Kong location work and the way kung fu superhuman techniques are subtly transposed into the contemporary setting. For example, in the final fight there is an “iron head” character who invites a cop to continually break wooden beams over his head, but doesn’t count on there being a nail present. That kind of loosey-goosey surrealism is a big reason why I continue to come back to 70’s Hong Kong cinema.
Charles Heung plays Chan’s contact once he reaches Hong Kong and he doesn’t really have the charisma or fighting skills to hang with him, which makes it all the more bewildering that he almost becomes the main character by the third act. These triad funded films of the 70’s had some chaotic development cycles and I would love to know why that decision was made.
Overall, fun but not essential. More a lost curiosity than a restored treasure.
Will McGuire’s Rating: 6/10
